Missouri Senate Passes Bill to Create New Student Goals

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) - Missouri senators passed legislation that could pave the way for the state to dump new benchmarks for student achievement known as the Common Core Standards.

The Senate voted 23-9 on Thursday to send the bill to the House, where the measure passed earlier this year. The House can accept the Senate's changes or negotiate a compromise.

The measure would charge groups of educators with developing and implementing new education goals for English, math, science and history by the 2016 academic year.

Students are scheduled to take tests this fall aligned to the Common Core standards, which have been adopted by over 40 states. Critics say Missouri lawmakers should have been consulted when the State Board of Education adopted the benchmarks in 2010.